Nebraska State Legislature

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The Nebraska State Legislature is the state of Nebraska's legislative branch. The Legislature meets in the Nebraska State Capitol at Lincoln. It is unique in that it is the only American state legislature that is unicameral. However, territorial legislatures such as the Legislature of the Virgin Islands, the Legislature of Guam, and the Council of the District of Columbia are similarly unicameral.

History

Nebraska originally operated under a bicameral legislature. Over time, defects in the bicameral system became apparent. Bills were lost because the two houses could not agree on a single version, and conference committees that were created to reconcile different versions of bills often met in secret, and were thus unaccounatable for their actions. After a trip to Australia in 1931,[1] George Norris campaigned for reform, arguing that the bicameral system was based on the inherently undemocratic British House of Lords, and that it was pointless to have two bodies of people doing the same thing and hence wasting money. He specifically pointed to the example of the Parliament for the Australian state of Queensland, which had adopted a unicameral parliament nearly ten years earlier.[2] In 1934, a constitutional amendment was passed revoking the House of Representatives and adding all its former duties to the Senate (the amendment also legalized betting on horse races). The new unicameral Legislature met for the first time in 1937. Though the name of the body is formally the "Nebraska Legislature," its members are commonly referred to as "Senators". In Nebraska, the Legislature is also often simply known as "The Unicameral".

Selection, composition and operation

The Legislature comprises forty-nine members, chosen by a single-member district or constituency. Senators are chosen for four-year terms, with one-half of the seats up for election every second year. No person may be a senator unless he or she is a qualified voter, over the age of twenty-one, and a resident of his or her district for at least one year. Currently, senators are limited by law to two terms. Senators earn $12,000 a year.

Non-partisan

Members are selected in nonpartisan elections. Rather than separate primaries held to choose Republican, Democratic, and other partisan contenders for a seat, Nebraska uses a single nonpartisan primary election, in which the top two vote-getters are entitled to run in the general election. There are no formal party alignments or groups within the Legislature. Coalitions tend to form issue by issue based on a member's philosophy of government, geographic background, and constituency. However, almost all the members of the legislature are affiliated with the state affiliate of either the Democratic or the Republican party and both parties explicitly endorse candidates for legislative seats. The unofficial partisan makeup of the Nebraska Legislature is 31 Republicans, 15 Democrats, and 3 Independents.

Meetings and leadership

Sessions of the Nebraska Legislature last for 90 working days in odd-numbered years and 60 working days in even-numbered years. The Speaker presides over the Legislature in the absence of the Lieutenant Governor, but the day-to-day matters of the body are dealt with by the Executive Board. The Board includes the Speaker, a chairperson, a vice-chairperson, and six other senators. The chairperson and vice-chairperson are chosen for two-year terms by the Legislature as a whole. Senators are classified into three geographically-based "caucuses"; each caucus elects two board members. Finally, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee serves, but cannot vote on any matter, and can only speak on fiscal matters.

General powers

The Legislature is responsible for law-making in the state, but the Governor has the power to veto any bill. The Legislature may override the governor's veto by a vote of three-fifths (30) of its members. The Legislature also has the power, by a three-fifths vote, to propose constitutional amendments to the voters, who then decide upon it through a referendum.

List of current members

Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature: Mike Flood

District	Representative	First elected
1	Lavon Heidemann	2004
2	Dave Pankonin	2006
3	Scott Price	2008
4	Pete Pirsch	2006
5	Heath Mello	2008
6	John Nelson	2006
7	Jeremy Nordquist	2008
8	Tom White	2006
9	Gwen Howard	2004
10	Mike Friend	2002
11	Brenda Council	2008
12	Steve Lathrop	2006
13	Tanya Cook	2008
14	Tim Gay	2006
15	Charlie Janssen	2008
16	Kent Rogert	2006
17	Robert Giese	2008
18	Scott Lautenbaugh	App. 2007
19	Mike Flood	2004
20	Brad Ashford	1986
21	Ken Haar	2008
22	Arnie Stuthman	2002
23	Chris Langemeier	2004
24	Greg Adams	2006
25	Kathy Campbell	2008
26	Amanda McGill	2006
27	Colby Coash	2008
28	Bill Avery	2006
29	Tony Fulton	App. 2007
30	Norm Wallman	2006
31	Rich Pahls	2004
32	Russ Karpisek	2006
33	Dennis Utter	2008
34	Annette Dubas	2006
35	Mike Gloor	2008
36	John Wightman	2006
37	Galen Hadley	2008
38	Tom Carlson	2006
39	Beau McCoy	2008
40	Merton Dierks	1986
41	Kate Sullivan	2008
42	Thomas Hansen	2006
43	Deb Fischer	2004
44	Mark Christensen	2006
45	Abbie Cornett	2004
46	Danielle Nantkes	2006
47	Ken Schilz	2008
48	John Harms	2006
49	LeRoy Louden	2002

Legislature Committees

The Nebraska Legislature has 14 standing committees:

• Agriculture Committee, Nebraska Legislature
• Appropriations Committee, Nebraska Legislature
• Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee, Nebraska Legislature
• Business and Labor Committee, Nebraska Legislature
• Education Committee, Nebraska Legislature
• General Affairs Committee, Nebraska Legislature
• Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, Nebraska Legislature
• Health and Human Services Committee, Nebraska Legislature
• Judiciary Committee, Nebraska Legislature
• Natural Resources Committee, Nebraska Legislature
• Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee, Nebraska Legislature
• Revenue Committee, Nebraska Legislature
• Transportation and Telecommunications Committee, Nebraska Legislature
• Urban Affairs Committee, Nebraska Legislature

References

• Wikipedia: Nebraska Legislature

External links

• Unicameral Votes Online: Supporting Transparency in the Nebraska Unicameral since 2008.
• The official site of the Nebraska Unicameral Legislature
  • History of the Nebraska Unicameral

v • d • e Current members of the Nebraska Legislature Speaker of the Nebraska Legislature: Mike Flood     Lavon Heidemann  Dave Pankonin  Scott Price  Pete Pirsch  Heath Mello  John Nelson  Jeremy Nordquist  Tom White  Gwen Howard  Mike Friend  Brenda Council  Steve Lathrop  Tanya Cook  Tim Gay  Charlie Janssen  Kent Rogert  Robert Giese  Scott Lautenbaugh  Mike Flood  Brad Ashford  Ken Haar  Arnie Stuthman  Chris Langemeier  Greg Adams  Kathy Campbell  Amanda McGill  Colby Coash  Bill Avery  Tony Fulton  Norm Wallman  Rich Pahls  Russ Karpisek  Dennis Utter  Annette Dubas  Mike Gloor  John Wightman  Galen Hadley  Tom Carlson  Beau McCoy  Merton Dierks  Kate Sullivan  Thomas Hansen  Deb Fischer  Mark Christensen  Abbie Cornett  Danielle Nantkes  Ken Schilz  John Harms  LeRoy Louden  The Nebraska legislature is non-partisan • Nebraska State Legislature

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